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TeamHealth Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TMH) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by funds affiliated with Blackstone, a leading global asset manager, and certain co-investors in a transaction valued at approximately $6.1 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by TeamHealth's Board of Directors, Blackstone and its co-investors will acquire all of the outstanding shares of TeamHealth common stock for $43.50 per share in cash. This represents a premium of approximately 33 percent over TeamHealth's closing share price on October 3, 2016, the last trading day prior to news reports that TeamHealth was considering a possible sale of the Company. JANA Partners LLC ("JANA") has entered into a voting agreement pursuant to which JANA has agreed to vote its beneficially owned shares, totaling approximately 8 percent of the outstanding shares of TeamHealth common stock, in favor of the transaction.

"We are pleased to reach this agreement with Blackstone, which maximizes value for all TeamHealth stockholders," said Leif Murphy, President and Chief Executive Officer of TeamHealth. "We remain committed to delivering the highest quality patient care and supporting our affiliated clinicians, hospital and post-acute partners. Blackstone is focused on working closely with TeamHealth to achieve our strategic objectives and drive innovation and operational excellence in the context of the evolving U.S. healthcare marketplace. We continue to believe that TeamHealth is uniquely positioned to leverage our national scale and functional expertise to drive high quality patient care, operational efficiencies and physician satisfaction in hospital-based and post-acute settings."

Neil Simpkins, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, commented, "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to invest in TeamHealth and once again partner with such an experienced management team and high quality business. We look forward to supporting TeamHealth during the next phase of its development."

Bruce McEvoy, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, added, "TeamHealth has built an industry leading physician services platform that is ideally positioned to enable its hospital partners and clinicians to navigate the evolving healthcare landscape while providing outstanding service to its patients. We are excited to help the Company continue its long track record of organic and acquisition driven growth."

"Blackstone is one of the world's leading investment firms and will be a tremendous capital partner to help accelerate TeamHealth's growth priorities and fund our long-term initiatives as we continue to execute on our strategic priorities," said Lynn Massingale, MD, co-founder and Executive Chairman of TeamHealth. "As a prior owner of TeamHealth, Blackstone knows TeamHealth and the U.S. healthcare industry well and will work with us to create value for all our stakeholders over the long-term. We are very proud of our team and believe this investment is a testament to the underlying strength of the organization and the thousands of skilled and dedicated clinicians who choose to be part of TeamHealth."

TeamHealth's Board of Directors recommends that stockholders approve the agreement. TeamHealth expects to hold a Special Meeting of Stockholders to consider and vote on the proposed merger and merger agreement as soon as practicable after the mailing of the proxy statement to stockholders.

The merger agreement includes a "go-shop" period, during which TeamHealth and its Board of Directors may actively solicit, receive, evaluate and potentially enter negotiations with parties that offer alternative proposals during a 40-day period following the execution date of the definitive agreement. There can be no assurance this process will result in a superior proposal. TeamHealth does not intend to disclose developments about this process unless and until its Board of Directors has made a decision with respect to any potential superior proposal.

The transaction, which is subject to the receipt of TeamHealth stockholder approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. The transaction has fully committed financing and is not subject to any condition with regard to financing. Following completion of the transaction, TeamHealth will become a privately held company, wholly owned by funds affiliated with Blackstone, and will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

TeamHealth noted that, with the proposed transaction, it will not host a conference call to discuss financial results for the third quarter of 2016. The Company expects to file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 on or before November 7, 2016.